Traitors Among Us
by wanderingsilverrose
Summary: 'Which runs deeper-bonds or plots? ...I don't know...' Everyone has secrets, and the Organization is full of deceit. So how can the new members know who to trust when nearly everyone has something to hide? The only way is to unravel each secret and see what lies in the dark for themselves. But the truth won't come cheap-and they could learn more than they expected.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, a new story. It's Kingdom Hearts, by the way. :3 Expect to meet some new Nobodies of mine. Please note that the continuality of it will not be like the games, and Sora is fighting other enemies in Castle Oblivion. Like, oh, I don't know, a new group of Nobodies.

Traitors Among Us: Chapter 1

Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne of Organization XIII, hurried into Where Nothing Gathers for the meeting he so happened to be late to. It was no surprise that the boy was late, considering the fact it would happen very regularly, and not just for meetings. Although it wouldn't change the fact that his superior members, who happened to be most of the Nobodies there, wouldn't be particularly happy with him having been late to the meeting. He had only intended to practice his sitar for about an hour, but the time had gotten away from him. Then again, it was easy to lose track of time in The World That Never Was, considering there was no sun.

After a while of running, he quickly made it into the meeting room and opened a Corridor Of Darkness to his seat.

"I see you have finally decided to join us, Number IX", the Superior, Xemnas, spoke in is slow monotone.

"S-sorry, Superior..." Demyx felt like shrinking back into his seat, but he just sat still and watched as everyone stopped staring at him for his lateness.

"Alright, what's this whole thing about", asked Axel. "I was catching some z's when this thing was called."

"It has come to my attention that our efforts to complete Kingdom Hearts is not progressing as I had hoped", said Xemnas. "Things are going too slow, and missions are not getting done quickly enough."

"Superior, what do you mean", a young blackette girl asked, sitting in the lowest seat in the room. She was the fourteenth member of the organization, Xion. "Aren't Roxas and I collecting enough hearts?"

"You are filling your quota during each individual mission, yes", said Xemnas. "However, your missions to gather hearts are far and few in between because of all that we must do to attain Kingdom Hearts, and all the worlds we are traveling to."

"What do you mean 'we'? You and Saix aren't going on any missions at all", the pinkette man called out. "It seems to me all you do is order us around." Marluxia scowled at the Superior.

"Number VII and I are busy enough taking care of the paperwork and organizing reports", said Xemnas.

"So what are you saying", asked Xaldin. "Do we need to recruit new members for the Organization?"

"Yes, so that our plans can go quicker than they are", said the blunette man, Saix. "That is where we need some of you to go out and find more Nobodies to join our ranks."

"More members", Larxene almost groaned. "Meaning more kids? I-" She shut up as Marluxia sent her a discreet glare.

"Who're you planning to send", asked the Freeshooter, Xigbar. He looked at Xemnas with his one good eye.

"You will all keep an eye out for other Nobodies that have not joins us, and some will be set specifically to find new recruits", said Xemnas.

A short woman with long brown hair and natural highlights of red and blond pulled up into a bun passed a stick of sea-salt ice-cream to her blond friend, who was slightly taller than her but also younger. "Here, you go, Yuki", she said. "My favorite, sea-salt ice-cream. In the world I lived in before, I always ate it when I had the chance. I'm sure you'll like it, too."

Yuki smiled and took the ice-cream as they sat down on a bench in the sandlot of Twilight Town. "Thanks, Cari-chan."

"You don't have to add chan to my name", said Cari, sitting beside her. "I told you, Cari's already my nickname."

"Then what's your full name", asked Yuki.

Cari sighed and started on her ice-cream, watching as Yuki started hers and gave a happy expression. "Fine, it's Carolyn."

Yuki nodded. "Got it. Why does everyone call you Cari, then?"

Cari shrugged. "I don't really remember, actually."

She sighed inwardly in annoyance at herself for her memory being so fuzzy and incomplete. There were large chunks of it still missing, as much as she'd tried to remember them all. Ever since that experience with those Shadow heartless in Radiant Garden a few months back while she was headed home, she hadn't felt the same in the first place. The creatures had just shown up and attacked her out of the blue, and for no reason at all. Although she'd felt one of them ripping through her chest before she'd passed out.

Yuki had been in a similar situation years before that, just after she'd turned eleven years old and was living with her older and younger brother. She'd grown up in a world called Valley Grove, and the things had attacked her home as she was getting there with her younger brother. Although sadly, the three of them were split up after the incident. After that, like Cari, she had just woken up in Twilight Town the next thing she knew. And during the time between then and before meeting Cari, she had learned better what had happened to her.

It seemed that both girls had lost their hearts, along with Yuki's brothers, to the heartless that had attacked. And now they were shell-like beings that were unable to truly feel emotions called Nobodies. They had been initially each insulted at first, until things had been properly explained to them. If they could have felt honestly sad by the news, the would have. But without true emotions, they only had ghosts of emotions and their memories to go on.

The girls had met when Yuki found her laying in the forest between the town square and the old mansion. Yuki had gently woken her up and asked who she was before realizing the older girl was a Nobody like herself. As it was, Cari hardly even remembered her own name, which gave the hint that she had just lost her heart. For a while, she hardly remembered much, and Yuki remained patient with her until she remembered more and more about herself and her old life. They had then quickly become friends and spent their time together, often traveling through the Corridors Of Darkness to other worlds and exploring. Although neither ever found their own worlds.

"Think we'll ever find our families", Cari asked, quickly changing the topic.

Yuki only shrugged. "Maybe", she said. "Myde-kun and Kira are probably Nobodies, too, though. They might not even still remember me."

Cari sighed. "My dad disappeared a long time ago, and I don't know what happened to him. I don't even know what happened to my mom, if she was attacked or not."

"Well, whatever happens is what's meant to happen", said Yuki.

Roxas paused as he saw Cari and Yuki sitting together, chatting, in Twilight Town. Thankfully, they seemed not to have noticed him, otherwise he might be in some trouble with Saix and Xemnas for being seen. Although if he was, it might not have mattered so much because they seemed different from the other people in that world. They seemed rather like the other members of the Organization, in fact, and it made him wonder if they were also Nobodies.

Of course, he needed to finish his mission of collecting hearts first, before he could do anything about them. And that was provided he could find them after he was done with what he was sent to do. Otherwise he'd just have to return to the castle without meeting them. And then he would just hope that Saix and Xemnas wouldn't be angry that he didn't do anything. He'd have to do his best to explain his way out of the entire thing. And that was sometimes easier said than done.

As he went about his mission, he continued to think about the two girls and what he might say to them. He had never really talked to any girls besides Xion, and he tended to avoid contact with Larxene considering her temper. So he really didn't know what to expect from the two he'd seen or what to even say to them when he did talk to them. He thought about what could happen and decided it would have been best if he'd gotten some advice from Axel before now. But it was too little, too late if he met them that day.

Once he finished his mission, he headed back to the sandlot to see if he could find the girls, but they were gone. He sighed and turned around to open a Corridor Of Darkness, but got something of a shock when Yuki appeared right behind him. He let out a small shriek of surprise and fell back on his rear end and stared up at her.

"Hey, you ok", she asked.

"Huh? O-oh... Yeah." Roxas stood back up and brushed himself off. "H-hi..."

Yuki smiled cheerfully at him. "I'm Yuki. What's your name?"

"Roxas..."

"Nice to meet you, Roxy", said Yuki.

"It's Roxas..." The blond boy watched her cautiously.

Cari walked over to the two kids and smiled. "You'll have to excuse my friend, here. She likes to give out nicknames to people. I'm Cari."

Roxas nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you... Um... I... I-I better... I'd better get going... I've got... stuff to do." He turned and hurried away from the girls, blushing awkwardly, until he was far away from them and opened a Corridor Of Darkness back to the castle.

Cari and Yuki watched in curiosity as they barely got a glance of Roxas opening a Corridor Of Darkness.

"That was... odd", said Cari.

Roxas sighed as he returned to the Grey Area to see Saix waiting for him. He braced himself for what could happen and walked over to report to the second in command. "I'm done my mission", he said.

Saix looked down at him. "And did you see any new Nobodies while you were out?"

After a nervous shuffling of his feet, Roxas responded. "I think the two girls were Nobodies, but I'm not sure. One had long brown hair pulled into a bun and wore glasses. And the other had long blond hair pulled back into pigtails and had a blue jacket on."

"Did you do anything", asked Saix.

Roxas paused. "Well, I finished my mission first, and then I went looking for them. We met, and they said their names, though. One said her name was Yuki, and the other said Cari. But I turned and ran off because I didn't know what to do."

Saix watched Roxas carefully for a few minutes before nodding. "I'll be sure to inform Xemnas. And as you are still a new member, I don't expect you to know what to do about new Nobodies you find. Now get moving." He watched as Roxas nodded and hurried out of the Grey Area. "Cari, huh...? Interesting."

"So were they cute", asked Axel.

Roxas blushed and glared at the porcupine-haired Nobody. "What's that have to do with anything?!"

Axel shrugged and watched as Roxas lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "I might like one of them. What are their names?"

"Yuki and Cari", said Roxas. "And they don't look old enough for you."

"Cari, huh?" Axel gave Roxas an odd look. "What did she look like?"

"Maybe fifteen", Roxas sighed. "Brown hair pulled up in a bun and pink glasses. Her eyes were blue-grey. She wasn't that tall, either."

"Sounds kind of familiar, actually", Axel said unconsciously.

Roxas shrugged. "Well, anyway, I made a fool of myself in front of her", he sighed. "Yuki, too."

"Well, I guess you can't do anything about it right now", said Axel. "So what about Yuki?"

"Long blond hair pulled back into pigtails and clear blue eyes. Really clear", said Roxas. "She had a blue jacket on, too, as warm as it was. They both had headphones on, too, like they were listening to music."

Axel nodded. "Well, who knows? They might be older than they look. They sure sound cute, anyway."

"That would be your wish", said Roxas. "But I don't think they're as old as you are."

Axel frowned. "If you want to talk about old, talk about Vexen or Xigbar."

Roxas laughed. "Not what I meant."

"Think we'll see that cute boy again", asked Cari. "Roxas, I think his name is."

Yuki watched the sunset from the top of the clock tower. "Who knows. I think he's a Nobody, like us."

"Yeah, does seem at least different from everyone else", said Cari. "I wonder why he ran off, though."

"Maybe he got nervous", said Yuki. "Maybe he's not that great with girls. He did seem a little uncomfortable, anyway."

Cari nodded. "Yeah, probably. He seems like a nice kid, though."

A few days later, Roxas and Axel sat on top of the clock tower watching the sunset after their missions. Xion had been too busy to join them, otherwise she'd be there. Roxas looked at Axel as they ate their sea-salt ice-cream. He seemed to be thinking a lot lately ever since he mentioned the one girl, Cari. Obviously, there must have been a girl by that name from his past, but he just wasn't saying anything about her. Maybe she'd been an old girlfriend or something, as far as Roxas could figure. Whoever she was to him, though, he seemed to have some connection to her.

"Are you sure you're ok", asked Roxas.

Axel blinked and looked at his little buddy. "What would make you think I'm not?"

Roxas paused. "You just look so... distant. You thinking about that Cari?"

Axel sighed and finished his ice-cream, looking back out at the sunset. "I... I knew a girl named Cari. She was one of my best friends", he said. "Always about nine years younger than me, but she looked younger than she was. She had sparkly blue eyes and light brown hair the last I knew, and glasses. But that was... five years ago? Yeah, I guess so." He sighed again. "She liked to tease me and our other friend some, but we looked after her like a little sister."

"Who was your other friend", asked Roxas.

Axel looked at Roxas' ice-cream and smiled. "Hey, you want some more ice-cream? I can go get us some more."

"You didn't answer my question", said Roxas, frowning.

"Right", Axel sighed, frowning again and looking back out to the sunset. "It was us, and Saix. Obviously, though, things changed over time."

"Think the Cari I met is the same one you and Saix were friends with", asked Roxas.

Axel paused. "Could be." He stood up and stretched. "Guess we should get back to the castle now before they start worrying."

Roxas nodded and stood as well.

Marluxia opened a Corridor Of Darkness a few days later to head out on his mission in Twilight Town to track the two Nobodies Roxas had found. But before he entered it, he was stopped by Larxene. He watched as she glanced around, all to find they were thankfully alone. He guessed that she wanted to talk to him about their plan that they'd try to implement later on.

"Is something wrong", he asked.

Larxene frowned at him. "You think those two girls are going to help us any", she asked. "Otherwise it's just two more to have to deal with."

After a sigh, Marluxia responded. "We'll just have to wait and see, now, won't we? Don't worry. If they do get in our way, we will deal with them accordingly. Now I need to get going before we're found by anyone else."

Larxene watched as Marluxia walked through the corridor. "If you say so... I still don't like this whole thing..." She scoffed and turned to head back to her room to read her magazines.

Cari watched as Yuki scampered around in her cat form, a blond ball of fur. It was a special power of shape-shifting she had that she hadn't had before she lost her heart, and she found that she loved it. Although she wasn't the only one with a special power from being a Nobody. Cari had her own unique ability, and could control any metal that she came across, which even included mercury. And they were both quite proficient enough with their abilities to fight off any small heartless they came across. They didn't really want to end up dying a second time, after all.

But she frowned as Yuki abruptly stopped and scampered back to her, with her fur bristling. "Something wrong?"

Yuki transformed back to her normal form, still looking bothered. "Something feels wrong here."

Cari stood and carefully looked around the area, before a loud crash was heard elsewhere. Without even thinking, she grabbed the nail-file from her hair and hurried off in the direction of the noise, with Yuki following quickly behind her. When they found their way to the train station, they saw Marluxia fighting a giant heartless. And he didn't look like he was doing that great, either, at the moment. Yuki looked like she had half a mind to help the man, but Cari stopped her before she could do something brash and get herself hurt. Both girls may have been proficient in magic, but they were still no match for the large heartless like what Marluxia was fighting.

Yuki turned back to Cari. "He's wearing what Roxy was wearing. Think they know each other?"

Cari just watched for a few seconds as Marluxia used his power over flowers to help him fight. "Maybe. But if we go help him... We might end up badly hurt or worse."

"Hmm..." Yuki could sense the graveness in Cari's tone, and looked back at Marluxia. "Maybe we should at least heal him, though."

"No", said Cari. She pointed to the heartless, that was losing to him. "He'll be just fine."

Marluxia took in a deep breath and aimed a final attack on the Darkside with his scythe, finally destroying it. He watched it turn into a large puff of black smoke and sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead before casting a Cure spell to heal himself. "Now, to find those girls..."

Cari and Yuki exchanged nervous glances before turning and running from the area.

Roxas and Axel sat down on the clock tower with their ice-cream and began to eat it, having finished their missions. Again, Xion had been busy and couldn't join them after hers. But Axel didn't seem to mind that much, since it meant only Roxas might pester him about his friendship with Cari and Saix. And Roxas didn't seem to really be interested in asking about the girls today, anyway. He seemed to be thinking about things, himself.

"Think Marluxia's going to find them", asked Axel. He looked down at Roxas, who just shrugged absentmindedly. "Hey, something wrong?"

"I... don't know", said Roxas.

"Are you worried about the two girls?"

"Maybe... But I thought we couldn't feel anything", said Roxas.

Axel shrugged. "Maybe it's memories."

"But I don't remember anything", said Roxas.

They sat in silence for a while, slowly working on their ice-cream, until they heard some yelling coming from below them.

Cari growled as she dodged one of Marluxia's attacks.

"You two will be coming with me", he said. "Conscious, or not."

"And what if we beat you, instead?" Yuki kicked him in the back, forcing him to stumble before recoiling against her. She quickly dodged the attack, even more grateful she remembered the rhythmic gymnastics lessons her somebody took.

Marluxia lunged at her and slashed his scythe to graze her arms. "That won't happen. I'm stronger than the two of you combined!"

"I wouldn't get so cocky", Cari said before calling out yet another magic attack. She hadn't actually even used her power over metal yet.

Marluxia dodged the attack and went after her again, knocking Cari back against the building. "Now, come peacefully." He quickly dispatched Yuki as she tried to attack him again.

Cari coughed and stood back up. "I don't think so. I don't even know a damn thing about this Organization XIII. Why should I even trust you?" She grabbed a lead pipe nearby her as Marluxia went to attack, and quickly formed the metal into a katana-blade to block the attack. She smiled as he was caught off-guard for a split second. "I control metal", she said. "And I like blades. Especially katana."

Yuki quickly jumped up behind him, having quickly gotten back up, and kicked him away from Cari. She landed nimbly back on the ground and transformed into a kangaroo and quickly began a barrage of kangaroo kicks. Along with beating Marluxia down, she knocked his scythe out of his hands and out of his reach.

"See, don't take us lightly", said Cari. She watched Marluxia get back up and go after his scythe. But she reached it first and kicked him in the face before he could get it. "We may be girls, but we're not girls you should mess with.

Marluxia muttered a Cure spell and stood back up. "Alright, I got that now." He brushed the dirt off himself and glared at the girls. "But we are not done. Not by a long shot." He lunged at Cari and Yuki and kicked them back to retrieve his scythe and began an even faster barrage of attacks.

Cari and Yuki barely dodged some of his latest attacks and quickly found themselves on the defensive. Yuki sent Cari a glance as they dodged, and Cari knew what she was asking about. She carefully and discreetly as possible pulled out a small vial she'd snitched from a laboratory in another world. A vial that contained a very dangerous liquid. A liquid that was also a metal, mercury. She didn't care to use it, but sometimes, like in this instance, she had to use it.

To Be Continued

And the end of chapter one. :D This is actually better than the original way they get recruited.


	2. Chapter 2

Traitors Among Us: Chapter 2

Cari almost got to opening the vial of mercury when it was pulled out of her hand and she was lifted up off the ground. She watched as Roxas quickly held Yuki back and Marluxia stopped. Growling, she turned to glare at Axel, who was watching her inquisitively, and attempted to kick him in the crotch.

"Let go of me, you bastard", she snapped. She continued to struggle, to no avail.

"Axel, Roxas, what are you doing here", asked Marluxia.

Roxas sighed, barely keeping Yuki pinned down. "We thought you'd have been done by now. Looks like you've been having a few issues..."

"Get off!" Yuki struggled to get free of the blond boy.

Roxas groaned and glared at Yuki, before realizing what their position was, and blushed. "Sorry, but... I don't need you attacking Marluxia."

"I could have finished this by myself", Marluxia protested.

"You were taking too long", said Axel, looking up at the pinkette man. "And I was actually worried you might die. Got it memorized?"

Cari's face became ashen and she froze, stopping her struggling. "Got it memorized... Lea...?"

Axel looked back at Cari. "Ok, can I let you go now without you attacking any of us? And the name's Axel now. Got it memorized?"

Cari watched in wonder as Axel looked from her to the vial he'd taken from her. "Axel... What's going on here?"

"How'd you get your hands on mercury", asked Axel. "And what were you planning to do with it? That's dangerous stuff."

"I was going to poison Flower-Power", Cari said bluntly, earning an unnoticed glare from Marluxia. "I control metal."

"Sheesh, Cari, you sure got ruthless", said Axel. He carefully put the short woman down.

Roxas carefully moved off Yuki, who was happy to get up. "So I guess this is the Cari you and Saix were friends with as somebodies."

Cari looked back at Roxas. "Isa?"

"His name's Saix now", said Axel. "He's going to be interested in seeing you again. And how much you've grown." He almost commented that she was still short, but quickly remembered how she hated being called small. It probably hadn't changed.

"You know each other?" Marluxia looked at Axel.

"Ok, so what's this Organization XIII really about", asked Cari. She watched as Yuki joined her.

"Marly kind of didn't explain anything", said Yuki, tossing him a glance before looking back at Axel.

"You want your hearts back", asked Roxas. He watched the two girls look at him and nod. "Well, we're working to complete Kingdom Hearts. Our superior, Xemnas, has told us that it will give us our hearts back."

Cari and Yuki looked at each other and shared a silent conversation before looking back at the three males and nodding. "Should have told us that from the start", they said together.

Marluxia was about to take Cari and Yuki, now known as Xicra and Kixyu, to see Xemnas, but Xicra only seemed comfortable with Axel. So grudgingly, Marluxia gave that responsibility and explaining everything to the porcupine-haired Nobody and went about his own business. Roxas was told just to go back and report to Saix on his own mission. Xemnas didn't seem the most pleased that Axel had been tasked with bringing the two girls to him, of course. So explaining did take a while.

Never the less, he gave them their titles after learning exactly what happened during that day. Kixyu was now Number XV, the Deceptive Morpher, and Xicra was now Number XVI, the Swift Silver. The girls seemed rather excited to have their own code-names, after all the hustle and bustle of meeting their leader. But that was only shown after Axel had taken them to their rooms and given them their Organization cloaks and rejoined each other.

Without further adieu, Axel began giving them the grand tour of the Castle That Never Was, and explained all the different rooms. He also told them about all the other members of the Organization and who to avoid. Although Xicra had to admit that she didn't understand why she should avoid the Chilly Academic, Vexen, when he already reminded her of her dad. Axel sighed and rolled his eyes, though, since he honestly didn't know anything about her dad in the first place.

As they passed the entrance to the laboratory, they watched as a tall man with long blond hair quickly exited in a hurry. Xicra paused and watched him from behind as Axel whispered to her and Kixyu that he was Vexen. And Vexen, even if she was just looking at his back, looked extremely familiar to Xicra. It honestly made her wonder if he was her dad, Even, who had been missing for years.

She carefully and quietly walked closer to him and spoke. "Dad...?"

Axel's eyes widened in anxiety as Vexen shot back around in shock, worried for what he might do to Xicra.

Xicra looked straight at his face and a realization hit in less than a second. She quickly latched onto him in a tight hug. "Dad!"

Vexen froze in shock and looked down at Xicra in wonder. To have someone call him 'Dad' was something that hadn't happened in years, and he wondered if the new member that was now hugging him was really his only daughter. Her face was the same, if older, and all her hair had done was darken some. He had often put his daughter's hair up in a bun whenever she had asked to help him with his private experiments. And from what she'd said, she had always liked it kept up like that.

He carefully rested a cold hand on her head and heard her gasp before she looked up at him.

"You're hand's cold", she whispered. "You really are my dad..."

Vexen blinked once, and then smiled, pulling his daughter into a soft embrace. "How did you ever get yourself into this mess, Cari?"

Xicra smiled. "It's Xicra now. I was attacked, I guess a few months back, by some heartless when I was heading back to Mom's place."

"Um... Wow." Axel stared awkwardly at the scene before him and Kixyu. "I'm not sure whether I should be touched or scared", he said bluntly.

Xicra and Vexen looked back at Axel, but glared at him.

"Dude, they were having a moment", Kixyu whispered to the porcupine. "You ruined it."

Xicra pulled away from Vexen and sighed at Axel before crossing her arms. "Seriously, Axel? You couldn't have just let us have our moment?"

Vexen sighed. "It would make sense he'd ruin it."

"Hey, didn't mean to ruin it", Axel stammered. "I was just being honest." He paused. "So... If you're the dad she stayed with during the summer..." He looked back at Xicra. "I guess you already know several of the members. Only ones you haven't met are Demyx, Luxord, Larxene, and Xion."

"How does she know you, anyway", asked Vexen.

"Me and Saix looked after her sometimes", said Axel. "Like when she'd go out on her own for something. Saix never met Molly, though. He never got the chance to."

Vexen sighed again and looked back at Xicra. "Is this why you developed a love of fire?"

Xicra gave a nervous chuckle. "You really think...?"

"Well, at least you should be able to get in good with plenty of the other members", said Kixyu. "My only hopes would be if either of my brothers, Myde-kun or Kira are here."

"Myde", asked Axel. "Kira?"

"Kira for Akira", said Xicra. "Kixyu gives everyone nicknames, but watch when she drops them."

"Myde-kun tends to have an odd-styled hair", said Kixyu. "It's kind of a mohawk-mullet thing. Dirty blond. Kira keeps his hair really messy, and it's the same shade. We all got split up when our home was attacked."

"That Myde guy sounds like Demyx", said Axel.

"Somebody call my name?" Demyx walked over to the four Nobodies and looked around them. But his sight stopped when he saw Kixyu. "Hey..."

Kixyu's mind clicked just as fast as Demyx's did, and she lunged at him in a hug. "Myde-kun!"

Demyx laughed. "Long time since I've been called that. Yuki?"

Kixyu pulled away and gave a wide grin. "You bet! But it's Kixyu now." She paused and her grin faded. "Is Kira here?"

Demyx sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, haven't seen him since we all got split up."

Kixyu sighed and gave a small smile. "Well, we're together again, at least, Dem-Dem."

Demyx smiled again and rested his hand on Kixyu's head.

"Ok, first Xicra's dad is Vexen, now Demyx has a younger sister and brother", said Axel. "What a day." He looked at Vexen. "Not to mention these two girls gave Marluxia a hard time. And she almost gave him mercury poisoning, too."

Vexen and Demyx turned to Xicra an stared at her.

"I control metal, and he was asking for it", she said with a shrug.

"And we still need to finish the grand tour of the castle", said Axel. "So if you don't mind, or want to join us, we should probably get moving."

Xicra's eyes widened as Axel lead her and Kixyu to the kitchen, which Axel noticed. "You still like cooking, huh?"

Xicra looked up at Axel and nodded fervently. "I wonder if Dilan will be in there... And Ienzo. Dilan served as the cook, and Ienzo and I learned some from him."

Axel nodded. "Right..." He opened the door and led the two girls inside, all to have the two men in there, Xaldin and Zexion, look over at them. Only Xaldin's look was accompanied by a knife in Axel's direction. "Hey, I'm not here to burn anything! I'm just giving the new girls a tour of the place!"

"Oh, sorry, then", said Xaldin, turning back to the stove to work on the dinner for that evening.

Zexion, though, continued to watch Xicra and Kixyu, mainly Xicra. "Hello, my name is Zexion", he said.

Xicra watched Zexion intently for a few more seconds before speaking. "Long time, no see, you two."

"Hmm?" Xaldin turned back to look at Xicra.

"You do look familiar", Zexion muttered, frowning to bring back old memories to the surface.

"Yeah!" Xicra skipped over to the two Nobodies. "Ienzo and Dilan. I remember you." She smiled brightly at them. "I'm Cari. Or I was, at least. Now, my name is Xicra."

Zexion set the knife he was using for the fresh salad down and turned fully to Xicra. "Yes, you are. But how..."

Xicra gave a nervous chuckle. "Walking home and got mugged by Shadows. Not a fun experience... I already saw Dad."

"Hey, are you forgetting about me", Kixyu called, before walking over to join them. "I'm Kixyu, Dem-Dem's little sister." She gave a wide grin.

"No wonder the little Waterboy looked so excited when I saw him." Xigbar entered the kitchen and walked over to the group, looking at Xicra and Kixyu. "And I heard you two gave Flowerboy a hard time today."

Xicra turned to look at the new arrival and caught a very familiar-looking eye-patch. "Hey... Braig?"

Xigbar blinked and then grinned. "So you remember me, huh?"

Xicra mirrored his grin. "What I remember is your incessant pranks on Dad, and how he all but constantly scolded you for it. Among some other things, of course. And it's Xicra now."

"Well, it's Xigbar for me now." Xigbar's grin grew slightly strained. "You remember those lectures, huh? Well don't forget, you helped me with a lot of the pranks when you were with us."

"And the prank wars we had", Xicra asked. "You remember those, right?"

"Oh, how could I forget? Like the time you switched my foot powder for itching powder?" Xigbar watched Xicra intently.

"Replacing my shampoo with glue?"

"Your hair had spikes for over a week", said Zexion. "That, I remember. And you begged me to help you pay him back for it."

"And occasionally ganging up on me for pranks", Xaldin grumbled. "I certainly hope you outgrew them."

"Wow, and I thought you learned all your pranks from me", said Axel.

Xicra's expression reverted to a cheerful smile. "Don't worry, I'm not so much of a prankster anymore."

"Good, because Xemnas and Saix are sick of pranks", said Xaldin.

Xicra turned back to Xaldin. "Did I ever say I was completely done with them? No."

"Oh, no, she's not done", said Kixyu. "Want to know how many times we set up pranks in TwilightTown and other worlds? I don't actually remember."

Zexion sighed. "I hope, though, you've matured even more after all the years we haven't seen each other."

Xicra smiled brightly at Zexion. "I have. I'm nowhere near as childish as I was. And for Kixyu not remembering how many pranks we set up, it has been a few months since we met, anyway."

Zexion let a half-smile slip through. He could see that she'd matured a good deal, but still had some child in her to balance it. "Have you seen Lexeaus yet?"

"Aeleus?" Xicra's smile faded and she shook her head. "Not yet." She paused and looked back at Axel. "By the way, give me back my vial, please."

"Vial of what", asked Xaldin.

"Nothing I'll slip into the food", said Xicra.

Axel watched Xicra carefully. "For you to slip to Larxene if she gets on your bad side? I don't think so, got it memorized?"

Xicra pouted. "That's only the worst case scenario. I snagged that out of a lab, and I don't think you should be handling it. It could break and it's contents leak out and get you sick big-time."

"What's in the vial", asked Xigbar.

"Liquid metal", Xicra said, tossing Xigbar a glance. "Otherwise known as mercury." She looked back at Axel. "I don't think Dad has ever shown you how to be careful handling it. And besides, I'm the only one who can really use it without getting poisoned. Now give it back." She held out her hand expectantly.

Axel groaned and grudgingly pulled the vial out of his one pocket and placed it into her hand.

"Thank you", she said, now pocketing it.

"Where did you get mercury?"

Axel turned to see Saix walking into the kitchen. He had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised in mild interest and worry.

Xicra's grin returned and she bounded over to the Luna Diviner and hugged him. "Isa! Dude, years!"

Saix sighed. "Cari..."

"It's Xicra now, and I know you're Saix now", she said pulling away. "And the mercury, I got from some lab in another world for if it ever comes down to really needing it."

"I should confiscate that and hand it over to Vexen", said Saix.

Xicra waved a hand dismissively. "Dad already knows I have it, and he hasn't taken it away yet. Don't worry about it."

"Vexen is your... dad? He never once mentioned having a daughter before", said Saix.

"We've all avoided the entire topic because we knew even without a heart, he missed her dearly", said Zexion.

"Remember, I spent summers with Dad and the rest of the time with Mom", said Xicra. She glanced over at where Kixyu was to find she wasn't there anymore. She looked around to see that the younger girl was attempting to climb up to reach a cupboard to pick out some candy. "Kixyu, I dare say dinner will be ready soon. You don't need to be filling up on candy before then."

Kixyu sighed and slid down. "Oh, come on."

"Kixyu, no. Besides, you're always eating something sweet", said Xicra. "We don't need you to get hyper like you've done before." She looked at the others. "Think me when I was very young, only worse."

Xaldin groaned. "Alright, no candy for the blond girl."

"That's Kixyu, and I don't always end up hyper."

"At least not when your sugar is controlled", said Xicra.

"And I think we should all get out of the kitchen and let Xaldin and Zexion finish making dinner", said Saix, quickly going to grab the hoods of the two girls. "You can catch up with them later, Xicra." He looked at Axel and Xigbar. "You come with us, too. And someone return the knife outside the door to the kitchen."

Xicra made her way back to her room later, after Axel had finished showing her and Kixyu around the castle. It was definitely a big place and she was half-afraid she'd get lost in it if she didn't learn it quickly enough. And she didn't want to have to depend on another member to show her around in that event. She felt it would be rather embarrassing to her if she had to ask directions around her new home of sorts.

Once she made it to her room and laid down on her bed, she wondered what all would now happen in her new home. She already knew a large sum of the other members of the Organization, and knew how to make sure she was still on their good side. But she almost couldn't wait to meet and get to know the rest of her new 'family', as Axel had called them. He'd even given her some tips on how to get along with the others and when to avoid them. Tips of which she was happy to know now.

Eventually, after long having lost herself in her thoughts, she heard a knock on her door. She quickly scrambled up and hurried over to open the door, and saw Xion standing on the other side, looking slightly nervous. She blinked and tilted her head some to show a little confusion and waited for the younger girl to speak.

"Hey, I'm Xion, Number XIV", she said. "You're Number XVI, Xicra."

Xicra nodded. "Y-yeah, I am. Um..." She searched around for something to say. "Want to come in...?" She stepped aside to let Xion in and closed the door.

Xion looked around at the yet impersonalized room before looking back at Xicra with a nervous smile. "Axel told me I might like to meet you. He said you two were the best of friends before."

Xicra smiled and blushed slightly. "Yeah, we were. We... uh, did hang out a lot."

"Are you ok", asked Xion.

"Huh? Oh, I'm just... I'm a little... awkward when first meeting people", said Xicra. "I'm not really socially adept. I've come to prefer watching others before I jump into a conversation. You'll find me pretty comfortable talking to some of the others, but as far as someone I haven't really met...?"

"Oh..." Xion glanced down slightly. "Well... um-"

Xicra's eyes widened. "Oh, no, it's, uh... Not that we can't get to know each other", she stammered, waving her hands in front of herself. "S-sorry, not what I meant at all!"

Xion looked back up at Xicra's flustered expression and giggled a little. "Axel did mention you get nervous around new people."

After a few seconds of watching Xion giggle and then laugh at her, Xicra started to laugh as well.

Xion smiled brightly at Xicra. "But he also said we'd probably end up being pretty good friends, too. Maybe we could all go get some sea-salt ice-cream tomorrow or something. He said you loved it. Roxas likes it, too."

Xicra stopped laughing and nodded. "So does Kixyu, now. Maybe we can get Zexion, too. During the summers I stayed with my dad, we would sometimes go out and get some."

"I don't really talk to him much", said Xion. "And I'm pretty sure he prefers to spend his time in the library."

"Maybe it's just no one ever invited him", said Xicra. "I considered him one of my good friends, even if I didn't mature like him."

"And he prefers to keep to himself."

Xicra shrugged. "Well, I'll see about picking some up for him before we leave, then. I'm pretty sure he still likes it."

"Well, I have a mission tomorrow, so I'll come by when I'm finished to make sure you're set", said Xion. "I heard something about your first day of training being tomorrow. And Kixyu. I think you'll be with Xaldin, though."

"I don't mind him", said Xicra. "He and my mom both taught me how to cook. Not that they ever taught me together, of course. They only saw each other a few times. It's a rather complicated story 'cause of Dad's work. And Mom liked living out amongst the trees."

Xion nodded. "Right, I heard Vexen's your dad. Kind of weird to think about it, though. No offense."

Xicra laughed. "Yeah, I know. No offense taken. Not exactly what one would expect for a dad."

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: This story will follow several characters, some of which haven't been introduced, but will usually focus more on Xicra. Also, some of the parts here will seem a little fast paced with the rate I sometimes switch scenes in each chapter.**

Traitors Among Us: Chapter 3

Kixyu yawned as she finished off her morning coffee, still slightly tired from staying up with Demyx and catching up most of the night. She knew she probably should have waited for today to do that, but she was far too excited to see her older brother again. And despite not finding her younger brother there with him, she was almost bouncing off the walls the day before. Once Axel had finished showing her around the entire place with Xicra, she made a mad dash to find Demyx.

She stood up from the bar in the kitchen and stretched before looking to see that Xaldin had just entered, and looking very much in need of some coffee, himself. When he looked over at her, he seemed rather surprised to find her there, and almost annoyed at the same time. It seemed that she'd been the first few of the Nobodies up in the castle. Although what he didn't yet know was that despite the need for a morning coffee, she always woke up early like that.

"You look like you need some coffee, Xaldy", she said. "It's already done, too. I just finished mine. Nice and strong."

Xaldin grumbled a tired reply and went to get his coffee and sit down at the bar. After a few slugs of it, he looked back at the blond Nobody. "That's Xaldin, not Xaldy."

Kixyu sat back down and shrugged. "It's a thing with me, so get used to it. Are you always up early?"

"Yes", Xaldin said, taking another drink. "Usually, I'm the only one up this early. That way I have breakfast ready for the others."

"Well, I'm an early bird", said Kixyu. "When I had to take care of my brothers, I always had to be up early. Somehow, I managed to become like a mom to them."

"What about your parents", asked Xaldin.

Kixyu shrugged again. "Disappeared", she replied. "Kira never really got to know them, and I only knew them for so long. I had to learn how to cook and clean and do all that stuff. Not that our friends' families didn't help where they could, though. But we always had plenty to survive on."

Xaldin nodded. "You can cook, then maybe you and Xicra wouldn't mind-"

"Yeah, we'll help you and Zexy", said Kixyu. "Anyway, why'd you throw the knife at Axy yesterday?"

"He is not allowed to cook because he can't", Xaldin replied gruffly. "Every time someone tried to teach him, we've ended up with burnt patches of charcoal in here."

Kixyu snickered. "I can see why, then. Guess he's a lost cause." She watched as Xaldin finished his coffee and walked over to the sink and stove. "What's for breakfast?"

"You'll see when it's done", said Xaldin. He pulled out some cooking utensils and pans and some ingredients for breakfast. "Just wait, unless you want to go ahead and help already."

Kixyu stood and walked over. "I'm going to warn you now, actually", she said. "I'm either going to annoy the living daylights out of you at times, or do the opposite at other times. I tend to do that with some people."

Xaldin glanced at her and scowled. "You must be seriously bipolar, then."

"Yeah, well, I've always acted cheery", she laughed, pulling over the flour. "One of my friends either hated it, or loved it in tandem. But only because she's always been a bit emotionally... constipated."

* * *

"Alright, let's see what you can do."

Kixyu watched as simulated Dusks appeared in one of the separate training rooms. Breakfast had ended not even half an hour ago, and she was now beginning her training with one of the senior members. She glanced up at the impatient-looking Savage Nymph, Larxene, and studied her some, still retaining that cheerful smile of hers. Just because she was generally described as cheerful, didn't mean that she didn't take fights seriously. She often even liked using the apparent dissonant serenity as a mask to have others only underestimate her.

"If you can give Marluxia a hard time even without a weapon with that other brat, I'm sure you've got something up your sleeves", Larxene continued. "So show me what all you can do."

After a nod, Kixyu began her assault on the simulated lesser Nobodies, calling out several magic attacks and using her multiple shape-shifts to assist her. Of course, she didn't come away unscathed, but she could see that Larxene was rather intrigued by her lithe and quick movements. Not only that, but she was also using whatever was around her in the training room to help her. It almost amazed her what random items were in there, but she figured it was occasionally used to lounge around in when no one was training in there. As it was, there were some things that were mostly just for games, such as plastic/rubber outdoor toys like balls and frisbees.

She tossed one of the frisbees at a Dusk, and then swung a bat around at some more before calling out a Thunder spell. Larxene gave a smile and summoned her knives and charged them with electricity before throwing them at the younger girl. Kixyu noticed the attack in time enough to dodge and deflect a few of them with a rubber kickball. She hadn't exactly expected her to join in on the attacks, but wasn't going to balk if it helped show her strength to another member. Although it made it all the more difficult with her own speed and agility.

After a while longer and giving Larxene something of a rough fight after the simulated Dusks stopped appearing, Kixyu sighed as she slid down one of the walls. She was happy that Larxene, while extremely ruthless even with initial training, had allowed her to stop before getting seriously hurt. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she looked up at the somewhat tired Nymph and smiled again.

"Not bad", said Larxene. She watched the Morpher stand back up after a few minutes. "Why'd you use all the random stuff still in here?"

Kixyu chuckled. "Anything can be made a weapon if only you know how to do it", she said. "Good to know when you don't have something that's specifically and only a weapon and you're in a tight spot."

Larxene just shrugged and began to walk away. "Well, I was just told to see what you could do without a weapon, so I'm out of here. Spend more time if you want in here. You know, to go ahead and see about what your actual weapon is. I don't care."

Kixyu watched Larxene leave before chuckling again. She wouldn't tell the Savage Nymph yet, or even another of the members, but she already knew what her weapon was. She'd actually known about it, or rather, them, for years already. But she was just never really inclined to show it or even try to summon it for the first time. She wanted to wait until she really needed to use it before she did so, when she didn't have another choice. As it was, she preferred the randomness of her current style to a distinct style with a weapon.

Although she supposed now that she was in the Organization, she might as well see about summoning it and doing some training so she could use it.

* * *

Xicra sighed and slumped down onto to floor of the training room she and Xaldin were currently in. The Whirlwind Lancer hadn't been particularly easy with her initial training, since apparently he didn't believe it do just to ease her into it. After all, they had both agreed that enemies usually don't ease their opponents into a life or death battle. They tended to just go at it thinking, if it's another person, that the quicker they finish the job, the better. And Xicra admitted that it was what she would be more likely to do compared to the alternative. And he'd forgone bringing in the simulated Dusks until half-way through the training.

She had pretty much started out by spamming magic as she so loved to do to her enemies. And then slowly incorporated random metallic items from around them, also including the lead pipe-katana she'd used against Marluxia. Xaldin had quickly noted that she seemed to love katana for not letting the lead pipe-katana go and still going for temporary make-shift katana. Xicra had even admitted that katana were her preferred blades, even if she wasn't averse to others. And not to mention that when she did lose the lead pipe-katana, and was had to summon her own specific weapon, she ended up bringing out yet another katana.

Although Xaldin had in the end still over-powered her by his superior fighting skill, no matter how much practice she had against heartless. And with Xicra just really starting her more proper training, it was only expected he'd do so. As it was, it was still more just a test of what she could do already. Not to say that Xaldin wasn't a little bit impressed, just not enough to let her know he was.

After taking a few deep breaths and casting a Cure spell on herself, she stood and wiped away the accumulated sweat from her face.

"I think that's enough for right now", Xaldin said as he watched her walk over to him. "Not half bad."

Xicra smiled. "Then I'm going to get on back to my room and get cleaned up", she said, dismissing her new katana. She walked past Xaldin and out of the room. "Still got places to go."

She headed down the halls to her room, and had almost made it there when she was stopped by Demyx. She looked at the Nocturne curiously and expectantly, waiting for him to say something.

"Have you seen Kixyu", asked.

"Sorry, I just got done with my initial training with Xaldin", she said with a shrug. "Why? Did you need to see her?"

Demyx paused. "Well... I just wanted to make sure she was alright and that the witch didn't try to kill her or something..."

Xicra blinked in confusion before smiling. "I wouldn't worry about Kixyu. She can take care of herself pretty well."

Demyx relaxed a little, although still looked bothered. "Yeah..."

Xicra walked over to him and cheerfully looked straight into his eyes, placing a hand on his arm. "One does not make Kixyu angry without suffering some rather painful fate. Her expressions are generally not in proportionate to what she hands out to others. She's going to be just fine, if a little tired. Several months traveling with her has taught me not to underestimate her just because she's young yet. And after all, Xemnas did give her the title Deceptive Morpher. Obviously it would denote that she's not going to look like she's a threat, when she in fact is."

"Come on, Dem-Dem, I can take care of myself." Kixyu walked up behind the Nocturne. "Must I remind you of what happened to that thief that came scrounging our house?"

Demyx turned to see his younger sister and pulled her into a tight hug. "I just didn't want to find that witch hurt you bad enough to send you to Vexen and Zexion."

Kixyu smirked and rolled her eyes. "Hey, don't worry. Larx didn't try to kill me today. I just spent extra time training on my own."

Demyx sighed and pulled away before placing a hand on her head, grinning. "Alright, just as long as you're ok."

"You know, Demyx, you reminded me of Dad when he starts worrying about me", said Xicra. "Minus the shrieking, of course."

* * *

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't almost kill Kixyu today." Marluxia watched Larxene in one of the empty halls as they walked back to their rooms.

The blond woman shrugged. "I was explicitly ordered not to. Not that I wasn't tempted to send her to the old coot to be patched up and then stuck in bed for a week or so. Just to see what Demyx would do."

"Do you think she'll be of use to us", asked Marluxia.

"Maybe", Larxene said with a shrug. "I didn't find out what her weapon was, though. And she seemed to like using what was around her, and her shape-shifting. Pretty good with magic, too. She seemed oddly calm through the whole thing."

Marluxia stopped, forcing Larxene to do the same, and raised an eyebrow. "Calm?"

"She was smiling most of the time", said Larxene. "I think she's crazy or something."

"She did seem somewhat calm most of our fight", said Marluxia. "And there was Xicra. She seemed rather bored at first. But she seemed to be confident, too. And after a while, she just seemed crazy."

"Yeah... I heard she tried to give you mercury poisoning", said Larxene. "Maybe she'll be useful to us."

"We'll have to keep an eye on them", said Marluxia. "Why don't you see about befriending them?"

Larxene grimaced and groaned slightly. "Demyx's sister and the old coot's brat. Friends? They'll probably want them to avoid me. And besides, they're just kids. Do you-"

"For the plan", Marluxia interrupted.

She sighed. "Alright, I'll see if I can be friends with them."

* * *

Axel handed the group of Nobodies with him each a stick of ice-cream before sitting down by Roxas. "So, you two enjoying what time you've spent with the Organization?"

Xicra looked over at the Flurry Of Dancing Flames and smiled. "Yeah, I'm kind of enjoying myself. It's nice to be around my old friends again."

"Well, I'm sure you'll really feel at home soon", said Roxas. "Have you met everyone yet?"

"Not everyone", said Xicra. "But I'll meet them at some point, I know."

"I can't wait to meet everyone else", said Kixyu. She looked from the sunset to the three senior members. "I'm probably going to have a lot of fun pranking some of the Nobodies here. Can we do something to the Dusks?"

"I wouldn't suggest messing with some of the members, though", said Xion. "Xaldin hates pranks."

"And I already know that from the past", said Xicra. "Has Xigbar ever talked about teaming up with a cute little brunette? We all but terrorized him at times. Other times, I got along with him pretty well. He liked me when I was calm."

"Well, he's mentioned prank wars with a little girl", said Roxas. "I guess that was you."

Xicra nodded. "Yeah, that was me. But Dad tended to scold me a lot for it. And I think every time he did, he mentioned something about me being too much like my mom."

"Hey, your mom was cool", said Axel.

"I know." Xicra smirked and rolled her eyes. "But it seems she was always quite the handful when she was young."

* * *

Zexion sat in one of the chairs in the library at the castle reading later, almost boredly for once. Not that reading ever really bored him, but he'd been forced to re-read many books lately. And no matter how entertaining the plot, having to read them over again several times would bore even him. He sighed and closed it, standing up and then putting it away to see about another book, one he had hopefully not already re-read several times. He wished that Xemnas would allow him to get more books for the library.

However, his attention was caught when the door opened and Xicra walked inside with a bag. She caught sight of him and smiled brightly before hurrying over to him.

Zexion watched her for a second before speaking. "Is there something you need?"

Xicra grinned widely before opening the bag and pulling out a stick of sea-salt ice-cream. "I thought you might like some ice-cream", she said. "Xion invited me to have some today with a few of the others, and I figured I'd bring some back for you. After all, didn't you love sea-salt ice-cream when we were younger? We used to go out and get some a lot when I was with you guys."

Zexion smiled and took the ice-cream. "Well, thank you. I do remember all that sneaking out and behind the others. Those were probably some of my favorite times."

"Some of my favorite memories, too", said Xicra. She chuckled and sat down beside him. "I think those times made up for the ones when I was a little... too rambunctious."

"So how was your training with Xaldin", asked Zexion.

Xicra shrugged. "Found out my weapon, and it went pretty well. I was really tired afterwards, but only to be expected. Obviously, he won the fight. Not like I really had much of a chance, anyway. He's had more experience fighting than me, anyway. And am I talking too much?"

Zexion chuckled and shook his head before starting his ice-cream. "No, not yet. I'll let you know if you are."

Xicra blushed. "Right... So... Axel said you got the Superior to allow a library here. And Xion said you seem to prefer spending your free time in here."

"Both are right", said Zexion. "But as long as you can remain relatively quiet, you may come in here. Just don't allow Xigbar in here much. Least of all alone. No telling at all what he'll do."

"Got it memorized", Xicra said, grinning now. "And for being quiet, unless I have something to talk about, I've gotten really good at it."

"You do seem to have mellowed sufficiently", said Zexion.

"People have said I contrasted my more loud friends", said Xicra. "Not that they never rubbed off on me, anyway."

"Well, I can see that Axel rubbed off on you", said Zexion.

Xicra paused, but quickly stood. "Love to stick around more," she said, "but Dad wanted to see me in his lab when I wasn't too busy." She hurried over to the door, but looked back at Zexion and smiled. "I'll see you later, though. Maybe we can go for some ice-cream tomorrow? I know a place with a great view in TwilightTown we can go to."

Zexion nodded. "After missions, then."

Xicra's grin widened and she waved before heading back out of the library and to Vexen's lab.

* * *

Kixyu walked down one of the many halls of the castle, just exploring around some before someone needed her for something, likely her brother for some jam-time. She loved her brother dearly, but at the moment, she wanted to get a better look around the place. After all, her tour with Xicra and Axel had been about as brief as could have been, and didn't even cover everything. Axel had only talked briefly about a few of the places in there. And this hallway hadn't been visited.

Eventually, she came to a set of double-doors to what looked like a decently sized greenhouse. Axel had mentioned something about a garden the day before, but hadn't really said a lot about it. She could only assume that it belonged to the Graceful Assassin, Marluxia, and that he wouldn't mind if she explored it a little, as long as she didn't touch anything. She remembered that they hadn't gotten off on a very good foot, but hoped that they could at least not be enemies.

She carefully opened one of the doors to go inside, doing her best not to make any sounds. Although she was quite good at it, considering the fact that she was always able to sneak up on most people, even when not using her power. As she closed the door, she looked around and was amazed by all the flowers and plants there. Obviously, Marluxia had a very green thumb and took wonderful care of them all.

Before long, she was in the middle of the place just admiring all the flowers of all different colors. Her smile brightened and she suddenly couldn't resist the urge to change into a house cat and lay down in a bare patch amongst the sunflowers. They were her personal favorites, especially as they produced sunflower seeds, of which she loved almost as much as candy. So she quickly transformed into her famous ball of blond fur and curled up in the grass before falling into a little cat-nap.

To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: Sorry for not updating. I've been a little busy elsewhere-namely my roleplaying habit. I'll try to get back on track updating. Though since I have classes again, working on any of my projects might be a tad difficult. If it's been a while and you're starting to worry about the status of the story, don't hesitate to send me a message about it.**

Traitors Among Us: Chapter 4

Marluxia walked into his garden and picked up a watering can that sat by the entrance before going to fill it to give his 'babies' a little drink. Not that the watering can, itself was particularly small, of course, since he didn't like the idea of constantly filling it up. He could have used a water hose for the purpose of watering his flowers, but he felt it took away from the individual time with each patch. And he'd always liked to have some time with each of them, since he almost preferred them over some people.

He began watering them, and slowly made his way through them to the sunflower patch where Kixyu was sleeping. When he saw the young girl, he stopped and crossed his arms for a few minutes. She looked so peaceful, and not like she could do any damage to his garden he cared for so much. Although she was also Demyx's younger sister, so he couldn't be too sure she wouldn't do any damage. And as it was, she had managed to give him some problems when they met, along with Xicra.

Shaking his head, he bent down and picked the sleeping Nobody up by her collar, quickly waking her up. "And might I ask what you're doing sleeping in amongst my sunflowers?"

Kixyu blinked completely awake and gave him a wide-eyed, slightly nervous look. "O-oh, hi, Marly... I was just sleeping. It looked inviting and I love sunflowers, so I figured to take a little cat-nap. I hope you don't mind... I just wanted a better look around the castle and found your garden. It's very pretty."

Marluxia sighed and watched Kixyu. "Well, you don't seem to have done any damage to the place, so I can't arbitrarily kick you out. And so it seems you have something of an appreciation for nature, if you were sleeping so peacefully." He put Kixyu down and watched her shape-shift back to normal.

Kixyu smiled. "I had a friend who loved nature, and had his own garden that he took care of. He was always giving out flowers, too, to those who would appreciate them."

"And I suppose he taught you that appreciation", said Marluxia.

"Yep, he certainly did", said Kixyu. "Sorry about coming in without asking, though. I was just curious. Axy said something about a garden in the castle, but he didn't bring us in to look at it, or even come close to it."

"Of course not", said Marluxia. "I've banned him from coming in unsupervised because of his tendency to set the flowers aflame for one reason or another. One day, it's to burn off steam, another, he wants to get back at me for something. Surely he can find other things to burn that won't get him in trouble."

Kixyu nodded. "I understand. There are some things you just don't burn. Flowers and books being my favorite examples."

"You don't exactly strike me as a reader", said Marluxia.

"Believe it or not, I am", said Kixyu. "I just don't strike people as a lot of things because of my cheerful and almost hyper disposition." She paused. "So would you mind if I spent some time in here now and again?"

Marluxia watched Kixyu for a few seconds before smiling and resting a hand on her head. "I don't mind at all. Does your friend like flowers as well?"

Kixyu nodded. "Where I like sunflowers most, she likes roses, though." She gently moved Marluxia's hand from her head. "I still don't know a heck of a lot about her, though. We only met a few months ago. She's from Radiant Garden where I'm from Valley Grove. And she's a bit secretive at times. Seems to me like she tried to guard herself in the past to keep from getting hurt."

Marluxia nodded. "I see."

* * *

A pair of cyan eyes flicked around and the silverette girl they belonged to quickly swung the keyblade with a cross for teeth in her left hand around to attack a Shadow heartless before it could steal her heart. She didn't honestly know what was in her hands, though, it just appeared as the heartless appeared and she needed to fend them off. But she'd heard about the heartless from rumors, and that they would attack someone and try to steal their hearts. And she certainly didn't want to lose her emotions completely. She was detached enough already, as it was.

"Damn things", she muttered as she attacked more and they turned into puffs of black smoke. "Would have thought they'd stop popping up everywhere."

* * *

"Ok, so our mission is..." Kixyu looked at the small slip of paper Saix had handed her that morning, a few days later. It was her first real mission, with her older brother, after having her abilities completely tested. Although she still didn't show her weapon. "Cripe, our home? Have you ever gone back for a mission?"

Demyx read the mission and shook his head. "Nope, not once. I guess there's a big heartless... I'm not cut for fighting", he whined. "I do recon!"

"Well, apparently Sai-Sai seems to think you need to toughen up", said Kixyu. "I personally don't think you're as weak as he and Xemmy think." She looked up at the Nocturne. "Just a lazy-bones."

Demyx pouted. "Come on, Sis, that's not very nice."

"Hey, I'm just being honest", said Kixyu. "Anyway, we should get going and get this mission over with. There's another little slip of paper, too." She pulled one from behind the main mission. "If we can find any more Nobodies, bring them back with us."

"Right..." Demyx took the other slip of paper. "It doesn't say what kind of heartless it is... I guess we just find a giant heartless, beat it, and get back before we get hurt too bad."

Kixyu nodded and opened a Corridor Of Darkness. "Then let's get a move on." She grabbed Demyx's wrist and pulled him along behind her as she headed through the Corridor to their home world.

The two Nobodies stepped out to an all but demolished house and pulled their hoods up before proceeding. Demyx watched as his sister quickly transformed into her house cat form and dart off towards the lightly wooded area. He had to quickly run after her to keep up with her fast pace, not having realized she'd gotten even faster with the passing time. Not that he really knew why they were headed into the trees for their mission, since he didn't think there'd be enough room for a giant heartless to hide. Unless she knew something he didn't.

While Kixyu scampered through the trees with Demyx following her flicking tail, her blue eyes darted around for something out of the ordinary. She had no clue what she was looking for, but her instincts told her to search the forest first. And she liked to trust her instincts, as they didn't usually let her down. As it was, her instincts had gotten her out of a lot of sticky situations before she'd met up with Xicra. And the brunette woman had come to learn to also trust them, even if she did insist to use some logic in with them.

After a while, she stopped behind one tree and her fur bristled, forcing Demyx to stop and look around in almost panic. He heard her hiss and looked forward to see a gaggle of assorted heartless appear around a Veil Lizard. Kixyu jumped back, hissing even louder, and Demyx gave a yelp of surprise and fear. He almost ran off, but Kixyu quickly transformed into a lioness and stopped him. They both knew that it would probably take both of them to deal with the heartless they were now facing.

"They want us to beat that thing", Demyx almost shrieked. "That's scary!"

"Look, we can take care of this thing", said Kixyu. She relaxed before lunging at a few of the smaller heartless.

Demyx watched for a second before he summoned his weapon, his sitar, and began to bash the heartless with it. He didn't really want to fight, but he knew that Kixyu wouldn't be pleased if she had to fight on her own. And he didn't want her to get too beat up because he was being scared and lazy. There wasn't much that would really motivate him, but the possibility of his family being hurt would motivate him to action.

* * *

Larxene walked down the halls towards her room, although stopped as she saw Xicra walking out of Vexen's lab. She quickly remembered how Marluxia had told her to befriend the two new members, no matter how she really thought of them. She groaned silently to herself, though, since she didn't really feel like associating herself with Vexen's daughter, for fear she'd be just like him. And she didn't really like Vexen much, if at all. She knew she was assuming a good deal, but it never hurt to be prepared for what could happen.

Xicra looked up at Larxene as she closed the door, and walked over to her. "Is there something I can help you with", she asked almost nervously. "Or... Um, something?"

"Hi, I'm Larxene", said Larxene, forcing a smile. "You're the other newbie here. Uh... Xicra, is it?"

The brunette nodded carefully, not sure whether she should trust the blond or not. After all, Vexen had warned her of a few of the other members she didn't really know that well. "I am. Erm... Is all you wanted was to introduce yourself...?" She began to habitually fidget with her gloves out of nervousness.

"And you're the old co- Vexen's", she struggled with the name, almost, "kid, too, aren't you?"

Xicra relaxed slightly and smiled in amusement. "You were about to call him an old coot, weren't you?" As Larxene paled slightly, she chuckled lightly. "Oh, I know he's an old coot already. That's nothing new to me. Even I'll call him old. Not exactly to his face, but all the same." She slipped her hands into her bell-like sleeves. "I may be his daughter, but it doesn't make me a female version of him. I'm actually more like my mom. And for future reference, I'm actually eighteen. Please don't mistake me for a kid."

Larxene's smile widened and the color returned to her face. "I think I like you already."

Xicra nodded, although still told herself to keep a close watch on Larxene and some distance between them as friends for a while. "So now what?"

"Feel like messing with any of the guys", asked Larxene.

"How about Xiggy", asked Xicra. "We've a history of prank wars."

Larxene chuckled. "Fill me in on his tricks while we get started." She walked closer to the short woman and slung an arm around her shoulders and lead her off to her room. "You've got to know something good."

"I should think so, with all the summers I spent living with him and Numbers III through VI", Xicra said, walking along with Larxene.

* * *

Vexen listened as the two women walked away from outside his lab. He knew that Larxene must be up to something to so quickly try to befriend his only daughter. And he didn't like that Xicra had so willingly gone with her, as there was no telling what she might do to sway her away from him. Although he knew that he had to have some faith in Xicra, since she was far from stupid. He could only hope that Xicra planned to keep a close watch for any tricks from the Nymph and keep some distance.

* * *

The silverette girl sighed as she finished the last heartless off and was sure that she was finished with them. But she glanced towards the lightly wooded forest as she heard some yelling coming from deep inside it. Before she acted and ran towards it, though, she went through what could be going on. And then, figuring she may as well check since she wasn't that tired, she hurried towards it. Not that it took long with her rather long legs and generally fast pace.

She stopped once she was inside the forest and crept through the trees, being careful not to attract the attention of anything that might be there. Eventually, she spotted a lioness and a hooded boy fighting off against more of the heartless. She was almost tempted to help them, but thought again about what might happen afterwards. She didn't want them to turn on her when she was probably even more tired than they were. So she just stood and watched them, analyzing their movements and attacks.

Eventually, she watched as the boy was knocked back against a tree and his hood finally fell, revealing an all too familiar face and hairstyle. She watched Demyx in shock, as she'd known him when he was still Myde. Although she couldn't be sure that he was the same, as Kixyu had kept calling him by his Organization name. Although she recognized his yelps as those Myde would make when she startled him. And she even recognized Kixyu's voice as his sister, Yuki. It made her wonder all the more what was going on.

All she did, though, still, was watch as they finally destroyed the heartless they were fighting. When Kixyu transformed back to her normal form, she saw the familiar pigtails from Yuki and knew they had to be two of her missing friends. She continued to watch as Kixyu called the mission done and Demyx said they should relax some before leaving. Kixyu agreed and sat down beside him, mentioning something about the Organization and her first mission.

"Hmm... I'm going to have to keep an eye on those two", the silverette muttered. "And anyone else in that outfit... Whoever they all are."

* * *

Kixyu looked up towards where the silverette stood hiding as she heard the snap of a twig and a very quiet curse. She frowned slightly and stood, slowly walking towards where the noise had come from. "Dem-Dem, I'll be back in a few minutes", she said before walking farther and pulling up her hood.

The silverette's eyes widened as Kixyu neared her, and knew she had to act fast and not think first for once. She quickly turned and ran back out of the forest, not caring how much noise she made. She didn't know what would happen if Kixyu caught her, as she seemed different from the last time they saw each other, years ago.

As the silverette ran off, Kixyu caught sight of the ends of her hair and quickly chased after her, transforming into her house cat form. She didn't know who it was, but she wasn't going to let her go without a chase of some kind. Although once she reached the clearing, the silverette was completely gone. Not that there was anywhere she could have already gotten to. She stopped for a few minutes to think, and then just turned and hurried back to Demyx.

When she reached Demyx, she transformed back to normal again and removed her hood. "Ok, that was weird. They disappeared. Whoever it was."

Demyx frowned and stood up. "Saix probably won't be happy if we tell him that someone saw us, will he?"

Kixyu shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe we should just leave that part out, then. I don't want to get in trouble with my first mission. Let's just get back to the castle and report to Sai-Sai."

Demyx nodded and watched as Kixyu opened a Corridor and dragged him through it.

* * *

A tall bulk of a man with hazelnut hair pulled Xicra and Larxene up from the floor as they walked back to Xicra's room with assorted household items and other things in their arms. "And what are you two doing?"

Xicra blinked and looked up at the man as Larxene groaned and rolled her eyes. "Lexeaus... right?"

Lexeaus paused and watched Xicra for a few seconds before smiling. "Well, Xicra, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm a little surprised I haven't seen you until now, actually."

"Hey, let us go", said Larxene. "We're kind of busy at the moment."

Xicra chuckled nervously at Larxene. "Yeah... We were getting ready to do something."

Lexeaus frowned slightly and looked at the items they were holding. "Alright, does this involve something with Xigbar?"

"How could you tell", asked Xicra.

Lexeaus sighed. "What are you planning this time?"

"Just a little present", said Larxene.

"And knowing you two, it's going to end with a prank war." Axel walked over to the three Nobodies, smirking lightly.

"We don't need any of that", said Lexeaus. He set the two women down and proceeded to take the things out of their arms.

Xicra pouted. "It's been years since I played a good prank on Xigbar", she said. "And it's not like it was anything bad or major."

Lexeaus watched the brunette and blond carefully for a minute before handing everything back to them with a sigh. "Just don't make this a habit again. And I didn't even see you with this stuff." He turned and walked away from them.

Xicra and Larxene exchanged wide grins.

"So I guess you two are getting along already", said Axel. "A little surprised, since-"

"I figure I'd better look after the new girls here", said Larxene, interrupting Axel before he could finish his statement. "And I have agreed to be a little nicer to the old coot."

"Hey, can you do us a favor and have Roxas come to our room in about an hour or so", asked Xicra.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Why-"

"You'll see when you see Xigbar later tonight", said Xicra. "We need Roxas to be the delivery boy for a few 'avid fans'. Just tell him I need his help, though. I'm not sure he'll be eager to help if Larxene's mentioned."

Axel shrugged. "Got it memorized", he sighed, turning around. "I'll let him know."

"And this is one reason why you're one of my best friends", Xicra said as Axel left.

* * *

Roxas sighed and carried the brightly wrapped box to Xigbar's room, on request from Xicra and Larxene. Axel had told him Xicra needed a small favor from him, but he hadn't mentioned that Larxene was with her. He wasn't sure whether the two of them working together on something for Xigbar was a good idea or not. After all, Xigbar had mentioned that Xicra already liked to pull pranks on him as it was. So if she was getting together with the so-called 'witch' in the Organization, he could only wonder what they'd done.

But he had to act cheerful and like it was just a delivery from some very avid fans of his. So he forced a bright smile before he reached the Freeshooter's room, where he was at, at the moment. Moving the box into one hand, he knocked on the door and waited for Xigbar to open it so he could give him the present. When the door opened to reveal a slightly confused Xigbar, the blond boy nearly panicked, since he didn't want to incur whatever wrath might be dished out after everything was said and done.

With an innocent chuckle, Roxas held the box up to Xigbar, who carefully took it. "I was told to deliver this to you from some very... avid fans of yours."

Xigbar quickly grinned at Roxas. "Sure, just so you don't say it was from you. Knew you admired me."

Roxas almost went to slap him, but just laughed. "No, it was from a couple of girls. They just wouldn't reveal themselves. I guess they've seen you out on missions or something."

"Right", Xigbar chuckled. "Thanks for the delivery."

He closed the door as Roxas nodded and walked away, before going over to his desk and setting the box down to carefully inspect the wrapping paper and ribbon. But he shrugged when he found nothing to be suspicious of and carefully undid the bright ribbon. But then he just tore through the wrapping paper and went to untape the box. He noted that whoever had sent whatever was in the box liked tape, to have put so much on it.

When he finally opened the box, he had to quickly close his eyes and brace himself as several things, including paintballs, came flying at him. He gave a loud curse and backed away, even though it hardly spared him from the contents of the box. After it all stopped, he sighed and walked over to his bathroom and checked the mirror to find that he was covered in paint and random items were glued to him. He attempted to clean it all off, but found that it was all stuck and wouldn't budge.

He sighed and walked out of the bathroom, slamming the door closed, and, although he really didn't want to, walked out of his room to find Xicra. Somehow, he just knew it had been her that had put the box together for him to fall victim to. She was the only prankster he knew of to be able to get one of the most innocent-looking of the members to deliver it to him. Mostly since Axel had called a bit of a truce for the time being. And he swore to himself he'd have his revenge once he got cleaned up.

To Be Continued


End file.
